This is awesome! For only $450 you can get a machine that can automatically swap battery packs placed on bulky $120 phone cases.

You don’t need to plug a cable in your phone anymore, your over engineered machine can swap battery packs for you

I never imagined that I would live this long to see the future

  • Iceblade@lemmy.world
    link
    fedilink
    English
    arrow-up
    29
    ·
    4 months ago

    So… you’re essentially carrying around a power bank on the back of your phone all the time? Seems like a gimmick at best.

    Honestly, fast charging has turned this into such a non-issue that you’ll be hard pressed to find a more convenient solution.

    • unphazed@lemmy.world
      link
      fedilink
      English
      arrow-up
      1
      ·
      4 months ago

      Love my Newdery batt case on my s20fe. 2 full charges, charge slow all night for both. Extra in case I game or use a lot, and my battery will last longer.

  • aluminium@lemmy.world
    link
    fedilink
    English
    arrow-up
    28
    ·
    4 months ago

    Why do so many western start ups come up with ways to make something simple complicated? This gives me lots of juicero vibes.

  • bcgm3@lemmy.world
    link
    fedilink
    English
    arrow-up
    14
    ·
    4 months ago

    Coming Soon: A subscription model where you pay $10 a month for the ability to use your $450 battery swapper.

    • lurch (he/him)@sh.itjust.works
      link
      fedilink
      English
      arrow-up
      3
      ·
      edit-2
      4 months ago

      And you need a special mandatory app on the phone to use it. It needs all permissions and tracks you. It downloads audio ads and uploads them to the swapper while swapping, so it can play them while you sleep.

      • bcgm3@lemmy.world
        link
        fedilink
        English
        arrow-up
        2
        ·
        edit-2
        4 months ago

        App Update: Fitness tracker permissions can now tell when you are sleeping, so the app only plays ads when you are awake and actively looking at your device.

  • ch00f@lemmy.world
    link
    fedilink
    English
    arrow-up
    8
    ·
    4 months ago

    I worked as a consultant at a product development firm. One of our clients had us making a kitchen appliance that would take a “pod” of some kind (like Keurig).

    Their little ad video that they made before involving us had a little CG video showing the pod floating into the receiver and sliding down into the machine.

    When we showed them the prototype, the first question we got is if the pod receiver thing was motorized.

    Like…no. You push it down. Takes 1 second.

    Anyway replacing a phone battery does not need to be automated.

    • lepinkainen@lemmy.world
      link
      fedilink
      English
      arrow-up
      3
      arrow-down
      1
      ·
      4 months ago

      This doesn’t even replace the phone battery, it changes an external charging case.

      We have these in bars etc, they let you rent a charged power bank. This is just that with added complexity.

      • billwashere@lemmy.world
        link
        fedilink
        English
        arrow-up
        1
        ·
        4 months ago

        Pretty sure it’s not changing out the whole case. Besides why would you do that? Plus there’s a pic of the case with a slot on the side the battery slides in and out of.

  • nonentity@sh.itjust.works
    link
    fedilink
    English
    arrow-up
    8
    ·
    4 months ago

    I don’t see the use case for phones, and maybe there is for other personal electronics, but something similar for EVs should become the norm.

    Basically a range extender when you need it, but it can be removed to save on weight when your trips are within the built-in battery’s range. Such a system could easily be extended to trailers, including their own static or removable batteries, and where the additional axles could be powered so they can contribute regenerative braking.

  • RememberTheApollo_@lemmy.world
    link
    fedilink
    English
    arrow-up
    8
    ·
    4 months ago

    “There’s no AI of dubious value”

    The whole thing is of little to no value. Maybe a good idea for people with physical limitations like bad arthritis where swapping a battery might be difficult, but for the average person it’s tech vaporware waiting to fail.

    • Buddahriffic@lemmy.world
      link
      fedilink
      English
      arrow-up
      2
      ·
      4 months ago

      At which point even the ones who it does help will no longer be able to use it because it probably depends on an online connection for no good reason.

      • RememberTheApollo_@lemmy.world
        link
        fedilink
        English
        arrow-up
        3
        ·
        4 months ago

        Didn’t even think of that, but true. The device would only work as long as a service provider is willing to support it. Or your subscription runs out.

  • FireWire400@lemmy.world
    link
    fedilink
    English
    arrow-up
    6
    ·
    4 months ago

    Sounds super wasteful… It seems like the bigger the threat of climate change fucking up all of us the bigger the number of CEOs shooting shit into space and shitty “innovative” start-ups being founded

  • 1995ToyotaCorolla@lemmy.world
    link
    fedilink
    English
    arrow-up
    3
    ·
    4 months ago

    A charging pad takes up way less space, costs way less, and is something you don’t have to plug into your phone.

    Still, you could buy a whole bunch of nice MagSafe chargers for that kind of money. But what Swippitt offers is a tidier solution, one you don’t really have to think about.

    I don’t really know how much mental labor I’m performing placing my phone on the nightstand every night.

  • XeroxCool@lemmy.world
    link
    fedilink
    English
    arrow-up
    5
    arrow-down
    2
    ·
    4 months ago

    I’m always shocked by how unimaginative this tech-centric community acts. OK, so this version is silly for YOU. Are you the whole world? Are you the future? Stuff like this is typically a bulky demo unit in need of further development. Fringe case devices are also that - fringe case solutions. This isn’t for the person sitting at home with a dormant phone. This probably has an application in medical and scientific fields where mobility is critical, staying in one device is necessary, avoiding a tangled external battery pack is preferred, and automation prevent human error like not plugging in the dead pack fully kor at all). Could have larger applications for swapping vehicle batteries, as well.

    So don’t buy it.

      • XeroxCool@lemmy.world
        link
        fedilink
        English
        arrow-up
        1
        ·
        4 months ago

        And those weird products that make common, simple tasks easier (think: 90s-00s infomercial for like jar openers or soda pourers) only ever showed normal, able-bodied people badly performing tasks. Doesn’t change the fact that those were targeted at people with disabilities without singling them out. The shown user is not always the target audience.

  • CrowAirbrush@lemmy.world
    link
    fedilink
    English
    arrow-up
    1
    ·
    4 months ago

    Aren’t battery packs really bad for your phone tho? Keeping it at 100% constantly until it runs out